Kindness Is Not Just Giving But Empowering Living Beings

 Kindness Turns A Person Into A Human

Kindness is an attribute, a quality that can be inherited, acquired, and cultivated but can neither be taught nor forcefully inculcated in anyone. In this world of brutal crimes, selfish mindsets, and rampaging threats can we believe that just an iota of kindness is enough to make a big difference in many lives? Well, I know you must be thinking that at such difficult times, we can only expect others to be kind and generous towards us. How can I be kind to others when I have my own boat struggling desperately to survive and manage to sail from nowhere to nowhere?  But believe me it’s really magical. It’s magical to experience the divine through the acts of kindness; it’s blissful to see the positive changes and transformations in our fellow beings by our compassionate attitude towards them and it proves that we all have greatness within; we just need to unveil it, uncover it and embrace it in our day-to-day activities and approach.

During the ongoing Mahakumbh, 183 beggars were rounded up by Haridwar police in the past three months. While interrogating them the police came to know that many of them had lost their jobs due to the pandemic and were abandoned on streets with no source of survival. After a few sessions of counseling, 30 beggars agreed to work and  make a living for themselves. The Haridwar police came up with an idea and made arrangements for their training by a five-star hotel chef. As of now sixteen beggars have turned into new chefs and employed as cooks across police stations of Haridwar at a salary of Rs. 10,000-12,000. This inspiring and innovative step taken by the police set an example of empowering and transforming the deprived and underprivileged lives into meaningful existence through the act of kindness and compassion and proved the words of Amelia Earhert that read as, “A single act of kindness throws out roots in directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.”

Interesting Reading : When Anguish Is Anticipated From All

As stated earlier, each one of us has the ability to cultivate kindness in our inner core but most of the times we overlook it in pursuit of attaining our materialistic or lofty goals and miss those thousands of opportunities to express kindness to the living beings around us.

How to Practice and Express Kindness

Amidst our bustling lives, the ongoing Pandemic and the previous annus horribilis, we tend to lose sight of those hands and hearts stretching out, seeking for Help, expecting our sympathy and compassion towards them; not always in materialistic terms; may be just our time, our attention or our words of care and affection to them. If we can be kind and generous towards them; that will also be an act of kindness and you never know just a few words of love can transform a life. We see people crying, we hear the stories of heinous crimes on daily basis; we witness the atrocities and injustices around the world and we know that these phenomena are beyond our control and we can’t stop them but a constant and conscious effort by each one can bring a bigger change to the society and eventually to the world. Kindness is contagious  and we always acknowledge (through the subconscious if not by the conscious) even a small amount of it when done to us and try to pass it forward when given an opportunity to do so. When we start doing the good at personal level and being kind to ourselves we take a step towards making this world a better place to live. Even our minimal kindness towards family members, friends, neighbours, colleagues or domestic help can add pearls of happiness and bliss to not just their lives but to ours also and enhances the peace of mind and restores our emotional equilibrium.

»       Meditation- Meditation is the best way to imbibe kindness so practise this affirmation every morning: I am kind to all and everyone is kind to me; The Almighty is the kindest to me. You will experience positive changes in your attitude and feel the warmth and affection of others as well as stronger relationships and contentment in your life.

»       Conversations and Connections- Feeling connected to our near and dear ones always instill a sense of care and compassion towards them and meaningful conversations play a vital role in strengthening these connections. An increased and strong connectivity develops clarity of thinking and galvanizes our senses to reconcile the old and lost relationships. So try to ramp up such positive conversations and feel connected to your people.

»       Acceptance for All- Being respectful to all and letting them have their rights to express their feelings and opinions make you kinder and more compassionate towards all life forms. When we accept others with their qualities and flaws we propitiate their conservative and indifferent core and spread love and generosity. On the contrary if we force people to change their behaviour and expect vociferously and we become cruel and emotionless which in turn invite the same aura for ourselves.

Being Kind Means Making a Stronger and Empowered Society - The noble act by the Haridwar police that empowered the beggars by giving them employment is an indication that kindness doesn’t mean just to fulfill the needs of the needy or facilitate the deprived ones; it also means to empower and strengthen them so that they can fight to ameliorate their living and become an equal part of the society. Kindness makes a person more humane and gifts an enriching and spiritually uplifted heart and soul to one’s existence. Let’s cultivate kindness and compassion as the essential attributes to our personality so that the mankind can fight against the adversities and shambolic disasters on it. We are kind when we cooperate and coordinate with others, we are kind when we lend our ears to someone who needs our attention; we are kind when we value others’ inputs in small tasks and we are the best when we practice and express kindness to all.

“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.”

-Barbara De Angelis

So Be Kind, Not for Others; For Yourself

I hope you find this article interesting, enriching, and thought-provoking.